Ha Jun fell on his knees, covering his hollow orbit with his hands as his shouts of pain echoed in the surroundings.
Spectators were tongue-tied, one instant ago they were cheering for Ha Jun's victory as he was about to crush his opponent, but the next second he was on the ground howling his heart out.
Ha Jun felt his hands were drenched in blood, he was in so much pain he had the urge to give up and swallow all the medicinal pills in his possession.
However, every time he was about to shout his surrender aloud, he would remember the smile of his master, waving at him while he left on his cart.
"I was just an ordinary shepherd with nothing to praise about myself, but master took me as his disciple, raised me and taught me everything I know about cultivation. Without him, I would still be on this plain leading sheep and cows for a couple bronze coins. How could I bear to disappoint him!"
Scenes of the past flashed in his mind.
On a cold winter night, the door of a small house creaked open.
"Master, you came back!" A young Ha Jun precipitated himself into the arms of an old man.
"Here little Jun, look at what I got for you." The old man said smilingly as he retrieved something from his pouch.
The quivering Ha Jun blew some steam on his hands while looking at the red ginseng laying on his master's palm with wonder.
"Quickly eat it, it will warm your stomach and help you in your cultivation of the Iron Skin body."
"This is amazing... But master, you're bleeding?" Ha Jun was delighted at first, before he noticed a small spot of blood slowly expanding on the side of his master's white robe.
"Dont worry, it's just a small injury. The herb was protected by some beast, but you know your master, I quickly got rid of it with one punch, haha." The old man laughed out loud.
"Master!" Ha Jun looked at him with red eyes, watching the spot of blood still growing as the old man laughed. Learning his master did all this for him, he finally broke in tears.
A week ago, just before Ha Jun's departure.
"Here, little Jun, for your travel expenses." The old man handed 15 gold coins to Ha Jun.
"Master, I can't accept it. You already have to clear the debt for the space pouch you bought me last time." Ha Jun wanted to refuse and give them back.
"It's okay, I can deal with it. Just focus on the competition right now."
"But master... I..." Ha Jun was hesitant. He didn't want to be a burden for his master anymore, it was his turn to take care of him now.
"Take it. You must sleep and eat well to be in top condition when you take part in the Tiger Martial Institute recruitment."
Ha Jun eventually took it reluctantly, vowing he would return triumphantly and repay this debt tenfold!
Adrenaline rushed through Ha Jun's brain as he slowly stood up.
"Master is aged and only at the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Although he's pretty powerful at home, in the span of the Mountain Breeze province he's the most ordinary of cultivators. Even in Azure Water City he would be strong but nowhere near the top of the food chain."
"Yet, he spared nothing for me, using his limited wealth and his own abilities to get me all the resources needed to further my cultivation. He even indebted himself multiple times."
Master count on me...
I can't give up... I won't give up!
I will live up to master's expectations!!
I will WIN!!!
Ha Jun raised his head and retracted his hands from his eye socket, clenching his fists hard as he looked at Ye Mo with his only eye like he was his life enemy.
Ye Mo tossed the eyeball down and stepped on it as he walked towards his opponent with cold indifference.
Ha Jun twitched upon this scene, but he knew with the abilities of the healing instructor, he could make him grow another one.
Without mentioning the pain and disorientation, losing an eye was a traumatising event for youths of this age, and Ha Jun couldn't help but panic at first, forgetting this fact, but now he gathered his focus and could think clearly.
Ha Jun swung his fist at Ye Mo with determination.
Ye Mo lowered his head, dodging the punch as he moved to the right, towards Ha Jun's blind spot.
With such a huge weakness, how could Ye Mo not make use of it?
Ha Jun lost sight of Ye Mo and quickly turned to his left, attacking with his back fist like a spinning top, but he only managed to hit air.
He looked all around him but couldn't find Ye Mo when suddenly he heard a swoosh sound from above.
"He jumped!" Ha Jun thought, but it was too late.
He didn't have the time to react that Ye Mo's fist already struck his skull.
His ears were ringing, and the dizziness made him take a step back. However, his body defenses were exceptional, and it wasn't enough for him to lose consciousness.
Ha Jun knew he was in danger and forced himself to look ahead when he saw Ye Mo's fingers drawing near his remaining eye.
Immense fear invaded him as he reflexively raised his arms to protect himself. He was still enduring the pain from his lost eye and was barely able to keep his fighting will after collecting himself, he was terror-stricken just thinking of his last eye being plucked out.
He cocked his head behind his arms to protect his eye, but didn't feel Ye Mo's fingers or anything hit them like he expected.
"Shit!" Ha Jun could only realize his mistake when in that split second he felt a strong force ascending between his legs.
"Ah!" His face became white, and a light scream escaped his mouth.
Ha Jun's lower body wasn't crushed by Ye Mo's kick only thanks to his body strengthening art, but the force of the impact was more than enough to make him cry in anguish.
Ha Jun's body was sent in a spasm under the intense pain, and his hands subconsciously moved towards his crotch.
Ye Mo didn't stop, each movement was followed one after the other and the moment Ha Jun lowered his hands, his elbow moved in a straight line, crushing Ha Jun's right eye and slightly sinking in the orbit.
Ha Jun's screams immediately accentuated.
Ye Mo distanced himself and gazed at the instructor, but this one shook his head. He wouldn't end the fight yet.
Ye Mo looked back and saw Ha Jun stubbornly struggling to stand up.
"I won't give up! I know you're not in a good state either, and I am objectively stronger than you, you only took the advantage because you cheated and spat at me, but it's not enough to defeat me! I'm not fighting alone, my master supports me, I can't lose!"
Ha Jun spoke in Ye Mo's direction. His two bloody eye sockets made him look horrifying.
"So you really want to fight to the death, huh... Dumb bastard." Ye Mo sighed.
He indeed was in a bad condition. His breathing was ragged, he suffered multiple bone fractures and he couldn't find a part of his body that wasn't injured.
The pain he felt during the set of movements he executed to cripple Ha Jun's sight wasn't small.
But compared to Ha Jun who was pushing his limits, Ye Mo had absolutely no doubt he would remain victorious no matter what.
Ye Mo was going to rush towards his opponent when suddenly, Ha Jun's mass shrunk down and he returned to his previous appearance.
"It took some time, but it finally happened." Ye Mo was relieved.
When he saw Ha Jun suddenly become stronger under the use of a battle skill, he immediately thought it must have some limitations.
The main cause behind his guess was that Ha Jun waited to be in a critical situation to use it. If he had no restrictions, he would use it right away, there's no reason to wait to be in a disadvantageous position to do it.
Ye Mo could have been wrong, but he decided to gamble. His adversary was very strong and in his current state, he couldn't assure his victory without taking a risk.
"There's a price to pay for any surge of power you gain." Ye Mo coldly walked towards Ha Jun.
"Damn it! Why at this time..." The little amount of qi that remained in Ha Jun's dantian was lost during his last bout with Ye Mo.
His Great Bull Berserk Incarnation couldn't be sustained anymore and he entered a lethargic state where he could barely move.
"Don't think you won yet. I'm a body refiner, even without my battle skills, my body defenses are more than enough against you." Ha Jun curled up in a ball on the stage.
His knees were raised to his navel, protecting his lower body and his belly, while his arms covered the upper body and his head.
Ha Jun lay on the ground, the stone tiles protecting his spine and the back of his head.
"Ha Jun is trying to tire his opponent. Ye Mo doesn't have any battle skill so he could hit him for hours without getting much results, and since he's already wounded, trying too hard might aggravate his injuries."
"This is pretty smart. Ha Jun can just wait for Ye Mo to exhaust himself attacking while he lays down and regains his qi. Once he recuperates enough, Ye Mo would have lost his chance, the tide of the fight will switch as Ha Jun will use his battle skills to defeat him.
"Hehehe, in the end, the situation reversed itself. Now Ha Jun is the one trying to buy time while Ye Mo must quickly knock him out." Onlookers couldn't help but smile at this new development.
Ha Jun heard Ye Mo's steps pausing right beside his head. Suddenly his feet moved apart as Ye Mo seemed about to hit him.
"What a fool. My skin is sturdy like an armor protecting myself. You might hurt me, but you will never deal enough damage to defeat me." Ha Jun's lips curled into a smirk.
He might get injured, but he was confident he could endure Ye Mo's attacks until he recovers enough qi. Ha Jun worked hard for years to reach this level of the Iron Skin body refining technique, he knew very well how tough his flesh was, a mortal like Ye Mo who couldn't use any battle skill can't hope to beat him without hitting a vital point.
Ye Mo raised his right fist high, while the chatter of the spectators was covered by the sound of the wind blowing in the arena.
His posture was stable, his feet anchored to the ground. His eyes were deep and unfathomable as he gazed at his target.
The next moment, his fist fell like a meteor.
Boom!
A thunderous crash was heard as blood was spilled on the stage.
In the middle of the battle stage, one could see Ha Jun's figure.
Both of his arms covering his head were broken. They dented inwards so much his face was crushed under them. His nose was smashed, and the pieces of his broken teeth tore the inside of his mouth. Below his head were stone tiles filled with innumerable cracks like a broken mirror.
The entire arena was silent.
Ye Mo stood calmly beside him. His dark eyes looked straight ahead. He would seem unscathed if it weren't for the monstrosity that replaced his right arm.
The skin was mashed, showcasing the bloody flesh hiding beneath. All of his fingers were bending in a different direction, his wrist was twisted in an unnatural way, but the most horrifying were the multiple open fractures.
Broken bones at different levels of his arm were tearing open the flesh and emerging to the outside.
The muscles ruptured, and blood dripped to his fingers before falling on the stage.
"I embarked on this path ready to fight gods and devils, killing heroes and demons in my pursuit of power, what's more, a mere Ha Jun." Ye Mo was under boundless pain from his arm, but he looked at the sky.
The sun shone brightly among the cotton-white clouds as his mind drifted towards his expectations for the future.
Because hardships strengthen resolve and who among the participants suffered more than him?
The overseeing instructor was shocked still for an instant before he seemed to receive a mental transmission and declared loudly, "The victor is Ye Mo!"